Rated
PG-13 (Extended Sequences of Intense Fantasy Action Violence, and Frightening Images)
Running
Time: 2 Hours & 49 Minutes
Cast-
Martin
Freeman-Bilbo Baggins
Ian
McKellen-Gandalf the Grey
Richard
Armitage-Thorin Oakenshield
Graham
McTavish-Dwalin
Ken
Stott-Balin
Aidan
Turner-Kíli
Dean
O'Gorman-Fíli
Mark
Hadlow-Dori/Bert the Troll
Jed
Brophy-Nori
Adam
Brown-Ori
John
Callen-Óin
Peter
Hambleton-Glóin/William the Troll
William
Kircher-Bifur/Tom the Troll
James
Nesbitt-Bofur
Stephen
Hunter-Bombur
Hugo
Weaving-Elrond
Cate
Blanchett-Galadriel
Christopher
Lee-Saruman the White
Andy
Serkis-Sméagol/Gollum
Sylvester
McCoy-Radagast the Brown
Elijah
Wood-Frodo Baggins
Ian
Holm-Old Bilbo Baggins
Lee
Pace-Thranduil
Barry
Humphries-Great Goblin
Manu
Bennett-Azog the Defiler
Benedict
Cumberbatch-Smaug the Dragon/Necromancer
Directed
by Peter Jackson
 |
| Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) finds himself trapped within the Misty Mountains in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." |
My,
has it really been nine years since the release of Peter Jackson's "The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"? I must admit, my first
experience with J.R.R. Tolkien's work was not voluntary. During the summer of
2000, one of the books on my required summer reading list was The Hobbit. I had
started reading novels while I was still in elementary school so the length was
not a problem but back then, I just wasn't interested in fantasy literature.
The depth and detail in Tolkien's writing made The Hobbit somewhat difficult to
get through yet it wasn't until 2001 with the release of "The Lord of the
Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" that I became a full-fledged Tolkien
fan. Jackson's film adaptations inspired me to pick up the novels and I blazed
through the entire trilogy in a scant three months. Grossing a gargantuan $2.9
billion worldwide, "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is nothing short
of a cinematic achievement and (in my humble opinion) all three are some of the
best films ever made. Interest in a film adaptation of The Hobbit (first
published in 1937) stretched as far back as 1995 but it was mired in
development hell due to MGM owning the rights and a number of lawsuits, with
New Line Cinema sued by both Jackson (due to loss of revenue from merchandising
for "The Fellowship of the Ring") and the Tolkien Estate (for breach
of contract and fraud). Pre-production did not begin until August 2008 with
Guillermo del Toro as director and Jackson serving as executive producer. However,
MGM's financial troubles led to del Toro departing the project in May 2010,
although he is still credited for the screenplay. I suppose that it was fate
that led to Jackson returning to direct this new prequel trilogy (originally
only two films) because there really is no one who is more suited for the job;
he was born to make these films. The first part, "The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey," is by no means a perfect film but it is most
assuredly an excellent one, an epic, whimsical and wondrous return to the world
of Middle-Earth as only Peter Jackson can do.
Celebrating his 111th birthday,
Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm), an old hobbit living in the Shire, begins to record
his adventures in a lengthy memoir titled There
and Back Again. Long ago, the dwarves resided in their home of Erebor
underneath the Lonely Mountain but were driven out by the fearsome dragon Smaug
(Benedict Cumberbatch), who coveted the treasures that lie within. The Elvenking
Thranduil (Lee Pace) and his army looked on as Erebor was laid waste but
refused to help. With no place to call a home, the once-proud dwarves were subsequently
scattered across Middle-Earth. Many of them settled in the Blue Mountains. Sixty
years before Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) set out on his perilous journey to Mordor,
a young Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is greeted one morning by the wizard Gandalf the
Grey (Ian McKellen), who asks the hobbit if he would like to join him on an
adventure. A flustered Bilbo refuses and quickly bids good-bye to Gandalf as he
goes back inside his Hobbit-hole. Thinking that was the end of it, Bilbo
settles in for a quiet dinner when he hears someone knocking on his door. A
dwarf named Dwalin (Graham McTavish) barges in and begins ransacking Bilbo's
pantry. He is soon followed by twelve other dwarves: Balin (Ken Stott), Glóin
(Peter Hambleton), Óin (John Callen), Ori (Adam Brown), Nori (Jed Brophy), Dori
(Mark Hadlow), Kíli (Aidan Turner), Fíli (Dean O'Gorman), Bifur (William
Kircher), Bofur (James Nesbitt), Bombur (Stephen Hunter), and their leader,
Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage). Gandalf arrives as well while the
dwarves help themselves to Bilbo's food. After cleaning up the mess, Bilbo
learns that Gandalf has arranged for him to be the dwarves 'burglar' in their
quest to reclaim Erebor from Smaug. The overly cautious hobbit steadfastly
refuses to participate but something awakens within him when he hears Thorin
sing. Bilbo awakens the next morning to find Gandalf and the dwarves already gone.
In a rush, he immediately packs a bag and catches up to the group in time. Traveling
deep into the Misty Mountains, Bilbo is separated from the dwarves when they
are captured by the Great Goblin (Barry Humphries). He encounters the strange
creature known as Gollum (Andy Serkis) and an unassuming ring that, unbeknownst
to him, is tied to the fate of Middle-Earth.
Set to Howard Shore's now-familiar
theme, a wave of nostalgia greets viewers during the opening scenes of "The
Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," transporting them back to the Shire as
Frodo (Elijah Wood in a cameo) prepares for his Uncle Bilbo's 111th birthday.
Despite the nine-year gap, it feels like Peter Jackson had never left
Middle-Earth; he may not have initially wanted to direct but the film remains a
labor of love for him where he pours the same amount of passion, creativity,
and attention to detail that made his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy
such a success. In adapting Tolkien's 300-page novel, Jackson has decided to split
the material into three films and his reasoning was that he wanted to tell as
complete a story as possible since this was his last chance to do so. There is
obviously a financial reason as well but while "An Unexpected
Journey" does suffer from a slow first half due to some extraneous
padding, it justifies its existence by the end by not only recapturing the
epic, grandiose quality of the prior films but by also including clever nods
that ties the whole narrative into a more cohesive whole. This means having a
number of familiar faces that weren't in the novel pop up such as Galadriel
(Cate Blanchett) and Saruman the White (Christopher Lee).
Compared to the
"Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Hobbit" is smaller in
scope and possesses a more whimsical charm, especially during the raucous
dinner party in Bilbo's home where the dwarves raid his pantry and break into a
song-and-dance when they clean up. It takes a good forty minutes before the
journey actually begins, with Jackson taking the time to strengthen Gandalf and
Bilbo's relationship, which was only hinted at in "The Fellowship of the
Ring." A more reluctant hero compared to his eager nephew, it takes awhile
for Bilbo to come into his own as a character and there are large stretches where
he's merely a spectator. It's not until his encounter with Gollum that he finds
the courage to stand up for himself. The famous 'riddles in the dark' scene is
riveting to watch, laying the foundation of what is to come after.
Structurally, the film's story (which covers roughly the first six chapters of
the novel) takes after "The Fellowship of the Ring," with the dwarves
escape from the Great Goblin's horde recalling the Fellowship's mad dash
through the Bridge of Khazad-dûm in Moria.
It's hard to discuss the action
set-pieces without at least touching upon Jackson's decision to shoot the film
in 48 frames per second (dubbed HFR or High Frame Rate). The 3D itself is fine;
it doesn't quite reach the heights of last month's "Life of Pi" but
the added depth is put to good use, particularly when Jackson goes really wide
and pans his camera during the chase scenes between the dwarves and Azog the
Defiler's (Manu Bennett) orcs. The higher frame rate can be jarring in the
beginning as characters move comically fast but you soon settle into it.
"An Unexpected Journey" is a sharp-looking film and the amount of
clarity in every scene is just astounding. The motion-blur and stuttering that
plague 24 fps films is gone and contrary to early complaints about the make-up
being too obvious or the CG coming across as fake, it instead made them
virtually seamless. Both the Great Goblin and Gollum are technical marvels that
approach an 'unbelievable realness,' a termed coined by CinemaBlend's Katey
Rich. Battle scenes are much more immersive because you're not seeing a blur
hacking another indistinct blur. However, there are definitely drawbacks to
shooting in such a high frame rate. Sometimes it's so real that it betrays the
fact that some of the locations are just sets and the green-screen effects can
come across as embarrassingly flat. This is apparent when Radagast the Brown
(Sylvester McCoy) leads the Hunter orcs on a merry chase (on a sleigh driven by
rabbits!). Still, the added detail allows audiences to appreciate all the hard
work that went into the production design and costumes. Let's also not forget
Howard Shore's amazing score that reuses themes from the previous films,
inserting them as subtle cues but builds a new theme around Tolkien's poem, Over the Misty Mountains Cold, which is
sung by the dwarves and features prominently in the trailer. Neil Finn's Song of the Lonely Mountain, played
during the end credits, has an earthy tune that is punctuated by the clanging
sounds of a hammer striking an anvil.
The "Lord of the Rings" films have
always had great performances from its ensemble cast that sadly went
unrecognized and it's no different here. Martin Freeman is a joy to watch as
Bilbo Baggins, capturing not only the hobbit's neurotic sensibilities but
convincingly matures him from mere spectator to participant over the course of
the film. Andy Serkis also impresses as Gollum and it's not just the motion
capture; he makes the character feel alive with his nuanced performance and you
almost pity him when he spirals into a depression after losing the Ring. Ian
McKellen slips back into his role of Gandalf effortlessly while Richard
Armitage brings a sense of gravitas as the stoic Thorin Oakenshield. The other
twelve dwarves unfortunately serve as little more than window dressing, which
was also a flaw in the novel but among the standouts are Ken Stott's Balin and
the amusing duo Fíli and Kíli played by Dean O'Gorman and Aidan Turner. Elijah
Wood, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee reprise their
respective roles from the previous films, although Wood's presence feels
unnecessary as all Frodo does is pick up Bilbo's mail and reminds him of his
upcoming birthday party.
Premiering in Wellington, New Zealand last month and
to be released on December 14, 2012, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected
Journey" has received positive, if lukewarm, reviews with 74% on Rotten
Tomatoes. Many of the complaints have centered on Jackson's choice to split the
novel into three films and his use of 48 frames per second. The somewhat mixed
reception won't put a dent in its box office given the level of anticipation. I
was lucky enough to see the film at an advance screening this past Wednesday
with the press, with Peter Jackson popping in at the end with producer Fran
Walsh and writer Philippa Boyens to answer some questions. The reaction was
quite enthusiastic, with applause at both the beginning and at the end of the film. For all its flaws, "The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey" remains a wonder to behold, a majestic first part
that's slow to start but soon hits its stride in this very welcome return to
Middle-Earth.
Final
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
"True
courage is about not knowing when to take a life, but when to spare one."
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